Draft season is upon us, and the 2025 NBA Draft Combine has already been enlightening in more ways than one.
Highly touted prospects like Duke teammates Cooper Flagg and center Khaman Maluach have only helped themselves in Chicago. Anthropomorphic and athletic testing has benefited first-round prospects like Saint Joseph’s power forward Rasheer Fleming and Georgetown center Thomas Sorber.
Skill drills have aided first round hopefuls like Washington State/Duke wing Cedric Coward and Tennessee wing Chaz Lanier. In scrimmages, second-round prospects like Memphis guard PJ Haggerty and Qingdao center Hansen Yang have popped.
2025 NBA Draft: Jeremiah Fears Names 5 Teams He’s Met With
During the 2025 NBA Draft Combine, players have been meeting with teams individually. Texas wing Tre Johnson named six teams that he’s interviewed with. Maryland center Derik Queen rattled off a list of five teams that he’s talked to.
Now, Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears has joined the fray, revealing the five teams that he’s met with: the New Orleans Pelicans, Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings (h/t Will Guillory of The Athletic).
Fears listed New Orleans, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Antonio and Sacramento as the teams he’s met with so far. https://t.co/1LellvbrCD
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) May 14, 2025
Of those teams, only the Kings —whose first-rounder will be conveyed to the Atlanta Hawks —don’t have a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans, who gave the seventh overall pick in the upcoming draft, are in as tricky spot as any franchise. For one, power dunker Zion Williamson’s future is up in the air. Additionally, CJ McCollum’s skillset is both a gift and a curse. Last but not least, Dejounte Murray is rehabbing a torn Achilles. With that being said, Fears can play alongside either McCollum or Murray and could potentially be their point guard of the future.
Philadelphia 76ers
Because the Sixers already have Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain, it might be difficult to see the point in them taking Fears with the third overall pick. However, as the 76ers navigate through this turbulent time, Maxey or McCain may be useful as a trade piece. Indeed, Maxey arguably has more value than anyone on the team. With that in mind, having Fears in the fold could make plenty of sense.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks are expected to keep the No. 1 pick and draft Flagg but that shouldn’t be a foregone conclusion. For starters, Kyrie Irving suffered late season ACL tear just three weeks before his 33rd birthday. Secondly, Dallas’s frontcourt is frankly already in a good place. Thus, a prospect like Fears —who could be of major import in the near and far future —might intrigue them (though Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper is considered the best guard in the draft).
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs will have two lottery picks —No. 2 and No. 14 —in the 2025 NBA Draft. There’s been discussion about them selecting Harper second overall, which would could make Fears an unnecessary luxury. If San Antonio goes a different route with the second pick, selecting Fears with the 14th pick becomes more feasible. However, in either scenario, there’s a solid chance that he’d end up playing a backup role.
Sacramento Kings
As previously mentioned, the Kings don’t have a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. If they did, it would’ve been 13th overall. Nonetheless, Sacramento’s expected to explore trades featuring All-Star swingman DeMar DeRozan. Among the lottery teams, there a few franchises that could bite — namely the Spurs, Sixers, Hawks, and Houston Rockets (who have the 10th overall pick). With that being said, the Kings have a glaring hole at point guard.
© Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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